TUESDAY THOUGHTS: TEACHER APPRECIATION

Martha Jackson Jarvis noticed the shape that my piece was taking before I did. 

She stood over my shoulder and exclaimed, Aah! Africa! Is it Africa?” 

Maybe I was too close to it. 

I was just happily manipulating the clay, and feeling safe to play and experiment in the calm, pleasant, informative space she’d created. 

When it emerged from the kiln, I was stunned. 

There was a method behind the glaze results. There was science. There was mathematics. I wanted to know how to achieve it again. 

She made me care about the details. There was a left-brained side to Art, too. 

At Howard University, I embraced it for the first time. I realized it didn’t have to be a betrayal of creativity. It didn’t have to be intimidating, difficult, or  scary.

There are some people you long to meet because you've heard so much about them. They inspire you to want to pursue great things, be better at a task, care more. 

When I graduated from Notre Dame Academy on my way to Howard University, I so wanted to be a student of the late Lois Mailou Jones. I was so disappointed to find out that after about 47 years of teaching, she decided to retire the year that I entered college. Fortunately, she made frequent visits as a guest lecturer, thanks to some of her colleagues and former students--who were my teachers.

Too often we are unable, or tragically too late to tell someone just how much their lives and life's work has touched our own.

This week is designated "Teacher Appreciation Week". 

I'm very grateful to have been instructed by some of the finest educators, and most delightful human beings in the world. 

They were not only good at communicating and sharing their areas of expertise, but demonstrated a genuine concern for their students. Their approach was parental as well as professional. Their office doors were always open. They shared their Art, their resources, their tastes in music, cuisine, apparel, books, their travels, wisdom, their ideas, and had great expectations for their students. 

Someone told me that college professors would be aloof and uncaring, and that in college, I would be on my own. They lied. 

My professors were accessible, sacrificial, and kind. They had dreams for us. 

They didn't hesitate applauding us when we we performed well, and constructively correcting us when we fell short. 

They were genuine, helpful, humorous, and hard working. They helped shape and inspire my Art, and enriched my life--and their own artwork was, and still is spectacular. 

Today, I'm delighted for the opportunity to publicly thank:

Martha Jackson-Jarvis -for encouraging me to explore a medium that I'd previously avoided. I will never forget her daily calming presence, pleasant disposition, knack for experimentation, and strong work ethic. When Winnie Owens Hart (whose incredible body of work always left me in awe) went on sabbatical, you were there to pick up the mantle.

Winston Kennedy- for words of affirmation, calm, clear, and concise instruction, patience, and providing skills that enabled me to succeed a few years after graduation in my accelerated apprenticeship with engraver and print maker, John Gerhold.

Jarvis Grant- for walking us all through the wonder that is photography in such an enjoyable, humorous way, and teaching us how to "see differently". Thank you for guiding us to appreciate the design and beauty in the details of objects and places in the world around us that most people take for granted.

Lila O. Asher- for also challenging my intense aversion to all things mathematical, and reminding me that precision and the use of technology is not an enemy of Art. I will never forget the walking field trip to the morgue.

E.H. Sorrells-Adewale- (one half of my Senior year advisory team, with the great Starmanda Bullock) Ade, you were our resident philosopher and, along with the late Lucille Malkia Roberts (our auburn-haired, regal mother figure, who made sure those of us who arrived in 1978, had a chance to experience Lois Mailou Jones’ watercolor demonstrations), and Albert Michael Auld (introduced us to The Islander, rotis, curry, and cola champagne), the inspiration for the manner in which I taught. 

Because of you, I endeavored to eliminate the "extemporaneous BS" that frequently relegates Art to a lower rung on the educational totem pole. 

The HU "Design" team helped me to inspire another generation of Art literate individuals for the almost 16 years I taught at P.R. Harris Educational Center. Thank you, Ade for taking time out of your schedule to visit my classes there. You couldn't tell my students that they hadn't been to Africa that day, AND had met a superstar!

Frank Smith - "Blacks In The Arts" was early in the morning, but a wonderful start to the day! Your presentations were delightful, NEVER boring, and introduced us all to individuals we otherwise would have never known. You taught us that it was perfectly okay to experiment and take chances with our work. You broadened our knowledge of those who were artistic greats...every day a smile...every day an affirming greeting. Thank you.

These remarkably gifted and talented individuals, in addition to Professor and master painter Alfred J. Smith (Encouraged me to draw more, and on a larger scale..."Get some GOOD paper and use something other than a No.2 pencil! ), 

Dr.Tritobia Hayes Benjamin and Dr. Raymond G. Dobard (Brilliant minds! When they lectured on Art History, I wrote down ever word), 

Doris Colbert (loved her drawings, grace, and calm disposition), 

Kwaku Ofori Ansa and Skunder Boghossian (walking wisdom, and masters of symbolism), 

Chi Chong Lee (inspired the thought of teaching art to children), 

the late Jeff Donaldson (Great lecturer! Introduced me to cranberry juice, appreciated my calligraphy, and encouraged me to never throw out a good piece of corrugated cardboard), 

and the late great sculptor Edward Love (the reason I like Gil Scott Heron and NPR), helped to make 1978-1982 some of the happiest in my life. 

At the former Howard University College of Fine Arts, my teachers demonstrated in word and deed that our artistic vocation involved so much more than making pretty pictures. 

Thank you all for unselfishly pouring so much into us, and promoting an honorable, valuable, positive and productive way to communicate feelings, ideas, moods, and experiences.